Life Without Buildings

Life Without Buildings formed in Glasgow in 1999, Sue Tompkins, Chris Evans, Will Bradley, and Robert Johnston developing a sound rooted in post-punk and art rock that was immediately distinctive for Tompkins's extraordinary vocals. Her singing was unlike anything else in British music — a stream-of-consciousness flow of words and sounds that was simultaneously abstract and emotionally direct, recalling the best of the post-punk vocal tradition while being entirely her own.

They released one album, 'Any Other City' (2001), on Tugboat Records, before dissolving. The album was immediately acclaimed as a distinctive and important record — melodically rich, rhythmically inventive, and built around Tompkins's extraordinary vocal performances. Songs like 'The Leanover' and 'PS Exclusive' showed a band with genuine melodic gifts and a completely original approach.

Life Without Buildings dissolved in 2002, and Tompkins subsequently pursued a career as a visual artist. 'Any Other City' has grown in reputation over the years and is now widely regarded as one of the great lost albums of the early-2000s British indie scene — a record that rewards repeated listening and whose influence on subsequent post-punk acts has been considerable.